Hi
I really like my cup and hope you 'enjoy' yours.
the first cycle I waited till teh flow eased up a bit before trying it, so just used some pads I had lying around. I found i got the hang of it quite quickly though, so haven't had to use anything else since the second cycle.
I have a heavy flow the first night and have to empty during the night or I leak. If you find the same thing, you might need a backup pad if you don't want to empty in the middle of the night (I'm always up at some point anyway). But other than that, I haven't needed any pads. I would only get 1 or 2 if I were you, and see how you go.